Kandy Garden Club

The Kandy Garden Club is a social and sports club in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which was established in 1878 for the exclusive use by British coffee planters to play tennis. It is one of the oldest operating sports clubs in the country[2] and the second oldest in Kandy.[3]

Kandy Garden Club
Kandy Garden Club is located in Sri Lanka
Kandy Garden Club
Kandy Garden Club
Location within Sri Lanka
Address9 Sangaraja Mawatha
LocationKandy, Sri Lanka
Coordinates7°17′14″N 80°38′49″E
Genre(s)Sporting and Social Club
Field shapeRectangular
SurfaceHardcourt
Construction
Built1878
Opened1878 (1878)[1]
Website
kandygardenclub.com

History

The club was opened in 1878 for the exclusive use by the British, particularly planters wanting to play tennis.[3][4][5] The nature of the club changed when an elite class of Sri Lankans (then Ceylonese) were permitted to join the club. In 1950 the club was opened to the Sri Lankans. The first Sri Lankan elected as president of the club was Col. S. D. Ratwatte with S. Wijenayake as the secretary.[4]

Features

The club is located at the south-eastern end of Kandy Lake, adjacent to the E. L. Senanayake Children's Park.[6][7] It has four floodlit hardcourts.[8] Other facilities include Billiards, Snooker, Table Tennis and Bridge. One of the club's billiard tables dates back to 1913, the table was manufactured by John W. Roberts and Company, and has been preserved in its original condition.[9]

Billiards champions Paul Mifsudy, Norman Dangley, were among others invited to play exhibition matches at the Club table. In 1989 the second match of the first snooker test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was played at the club.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Ferguson's Ceylon Directory". 109. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. 1967: 1194. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Illangakone at the helm of KGC". The Sunday Times. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  3. Abdeen, S.M. Jiffrey (23 April 2010). "Dilenthi and Naveed overall champions". The Daily News. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  4. Wimalasurendre, Cyril (28 January 2019). "Kandy Garden Club 140th AGM". The Island. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  5. Glendinning, Victoria (2006). Leonard Woolf: A Biography. Simon and Schuster. p. 89. ISBN 9780743246538.
  6. Karunaratna, Nihal (1999). Kandy, Past and Present, 1474-1998 A.D. Central Cultural Fund, Ministry of Religious and Cultural Affairs. p. 188. ISBN 9789556131215.
  7. Seneviratna, Anuradha; De Silva, Nimal; Saṃskr̥tika, Madhyama Aramudala (1999). World Heritage City of Kandy, Sri Lanka: Conservation and Development Plan. Central Cultural Fund. p. 1. ISBN 9789556131260.
  8. Van Daalen, Nicholas (1976). The new international tennis guide: a guide to some of the most exciting tennis resorts in the world. Pagurian Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780889320338.
  9. "Snooker at historic Kandy Club". Kit Sports. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  10. Marikar, Hafiz (24 January 2013). "U.W.Sumathipala gave his life for Billiards and Snooker". The Daily News. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
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